2026 Shortlisted Nominee
Lifetime Achiever Award
Dr Lisa Cherry is an author, researcher and internationally recognised trainer specialising in systemic, trauma‑informed change across education, children’s services, adult services, health and criminal justice. With over 35 years’ experience, she has trained more than 35,000 professionals worldwide, combining academic expertise, professional practice and lived experience. Her DPhil at the University of Oxford explored belonging among care‑experienced adults excluded from school, building on earlier MA research into care-experienced adults, exclusion and their employment and education outcomes. Lisa is the award‑winning author of Conversations that Make a Difference, The Brightness of Stars, Weaving a Web of Belonging and Caring for the People who Care, alongside her children’s book Squirrel’s Search for Love.